Davila Back in Boston, and Looking for More

The last time Desiree Davila raced a marathon in Boston, at the Olympic Trials in 2008, she came within spitting distance of the Olympic team--with four miles to go, she was running seven seconds out of third place. But those final four miles were humbling, and Davila eventually finished 13th.

Three years later, she returns to Boston a different runner, with two sub-2:30 marathons to her credit, including a fourth-place, 2:26:20 run at the Chicago Marathon in October, the fastest U.S. women's time in 2010.

“I don’t think anyone in the field is good enough where they’re going to run away with it without having that perfect day,’’ Davila says.

“She’s capable of running under 2:24 on this course," Kevin Hanson, Davila's coach at the Hanson's Brooks Distance Project, says. "History tells us one thing, and that is sub-2:24 has won in all but a handful of years." (Picture courtesy Photo Run) More